Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits in the United States edged lower last week, meeting Wall Street projections. Figures released Thursday morning by the U.S. Labor Department also pointed out longer-term unemployment signs showed improvement.
First-time filings for benefits dipped to 385,000 for the week ended July 31, according to the department, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week as the jobs market remains essentially in a holding pattern during the economic recovery. The total hit the Dow Jones estimate exactly.
The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths weekly volatility, was little changed at 394,000.
Claims have circled largely in a range around the 400,000 level since mid-May, with employment rising in COVID-hit sectors such as leisure and hospitality but changing little in some other key sectors including most goods-related industries.
However, continuing claims showed a sharp dip, according to data that runs one week behind the headline weekly number.
That level plunged by 366,000 to 2.93 million, the first time continuing claims have fallen below three million since March 14 of last year.
